First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers in Colorado
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$77,190
after federal, FICA and Colorado tax
Tax takes
$25,390
24.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$76,138
Colorado costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Colorado — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$102,580
Kept after tax
$77,190
Worth in national money
$76,138
State rank
8
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Colorado's middle earner gets $102,580, putting the state 8 of 50 — about 9.68% ahead of the national figure.
- Within Colorado this is well-paid work. Of 491 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 84 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- No great distortion either way. Colorado costs about what the country costs, so from $102,580, take-home of $77,190 is worth roughly $76,138 in national money. The average comes to $105,920, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For first-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers, Colorado sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $102,580, ranking 8 of 50 and running about 9.68% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Ranked against every occupation Colorado publishes a median for, first-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers sits 84 of 491 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Price parity in Colorado is near the national base, so for first-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers, whose median is $102,580, the adjusted figure of $76,138 differs little from $77,190 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $105,920 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: First-Line Supervisors of Firefighting and Prevention Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $73,320 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $102,580 |
| Top tenth earn over | $141,390 |
| This salary | $102,580 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Colorado | $77,190 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $80,995 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,212 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $97,171 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,962 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Colorado earn less than $102,580. The published range is $73,320 up to $141,390, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Colorado the take-home figure of $77,190, from $102,580, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 84 of 491 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $76,138 uses one figure for the whole of Colorado. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 84.
- Reported values are medians; for first-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers in Colorado the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $73,320 to $141,390. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Colorado is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $77,190 from $102,580. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 84 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $76,138, worked from $102,580, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Colorado address, on work sitting at 84 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $105,920, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $73,320 and the top tenth $141,390, so most people doing this work in Colorado sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Colorado costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $76,138 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Colorado adds its own income tax on top — which is why $77,190 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Colorado is $105,920. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($73,320 to $141,390) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Colorado rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Colorado's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $76,138 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $77,190 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Colorado income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.